Follow us !

Last news

WSL’s core business is to support technopreneurs throughout their project, from the launch of their business up to their growth phase, and to ensure, with a monitoring of trust and proximity that can last up to seven years, that they have the greatest chance at success.

Overall Diagnosis

WSL starts its accompaniment by conducting (at its own expense) an assessment of the project (or of the start-up less than 5 years old) focusing on four well-defined areas: intellectual property, market, technology and quality of the team. This diagnosis gives a global view of the maturity of the project, and highlights the strategic axis to develop and strengthen.

Committee of Experts

If the diagnosis is favourable, and if WSL’s added value is unquestionable, the proposal is submitted to a selection committee comprised of WSL Board members and of partners (local Invests, experts…)

The decision proposals are then submitted for approval of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of WSL is composed of representatives of Wallonia, of a majority of representatives of the industrial world (Competitiveness Clusters), and of representatives of universities and research centres.

Trusted Team with Local Anchorage

WSL’s great added value is its team! The project managers of the Walloon structure, spread throughout Wallonia, fit particularly multifaceted profiles that combine their specialist engineer degrees and their experiences as entrepreneurs. In their daily work, they share their knowledge of the local economic fabric and their sectorial expertise. Each project manager gets acquainted with their colleagues’ cases, and each one of them is able to contribute to each case. These project managers provide valued advice to the young shoots of WSL. The relationship of trust and proximity, established over a period of time, between project managers and entrepreneurs is at the core of WSL’s added value.

Leading-edge Infrastructure

It is vital for Wallonia to launch and develop long-lasting companies on its territory. More than 30.000m2 of floor space have thus been built or are under construction to cater for productive activities, which guarantee long-term local activity. Start-ups also need specific infrastructure and WSL provides them with shared resources such as The Labs and WSLlux.

Corporate Incubation

Using the concept of Corporate Incubation, WSL approached major industrial outsourcers. Today, in many sectors, the real breakthrough innovations usually originate in small but agile and dynamic teams. It is a real win-win situation for companies which give access to their commercial network, to their investment funds and/or their references, and in return, get a view of the dynamics of their sector and are able to develop imaginative solutions.

Evolution of WSL

To write that WSL has achieved considerable progress since its creation is an understatement. Some key figures… For its first fiscal year, in 2000, all the companies incubated by WSL had a combined turnover of €1 million, compared to some 56 million in 2015.

Over the past fifteen years, the number of direct jobs created has increased from 9 to 455. During the same period, the value added has grown from 1 to 21 million. But that’s not all. Three critical economic factors are revealing: the survival rate of the businesses followed by WSL is excellent with 95% of companies still viable five years after their creation; their annual growth rate reaches 11% in terms of job creation and 4% in terms of value added. This is well above the Walloon and Belgian averages. In addition to these figures, the effectiveness of WSL is also measured by its ability to innovate.

StarTech

In 2011, StarTech, the first students-entrepreneurs incubator was launched with the support of the Economic Stimulation Agency (ASE) which is now a part of the Agency for Business and Innovation (AEI). Four years later and Star Tech mobilises now more than 400 students and has already resulted in the creation of several start-ups.

The Labs

In 2014, WSL, funded by Creative Wallonia, officially opened The Labs, a concept which involves three functions:

Open Lab, a collaborative workspace and a meeting place for Walloon students-entrepreneurs and technopreneurs

WSL Lab, a cutting-edge technological infrastructure including shared cleanrooms for the member companies of WSL which are active in microelectronics, microsystems and software engineering

Living Lab ‘WeLL’, an open platform for innovation conducted by e¬Health sector users. Its function is to speed up the development of products and services in response to their needs

Eligibility Criteria

Project in engineering sciences, based in Wallonia, with original or patented technology. This project can come from a technopreneur, or from a university or a research centre with typically (but not only) a “First Spin-Off” financing from The Walloon General Operational Directorate for Economy, Employment and Research. The project must have moved past the idea stage and be at least at the prototype stage, with a potential reference customer.

Selection

WSL conducts (at its own expense) an assessment focusing on four well-defined areas: intellectual property, market, technology and quality of the team. If this review, which gives a global view of the maturity of the project, is favourable, and if WSL’s added value is unquestionable, the proposal is submitted to a selection committee comprised of WSL Board members and of partners (local Invests, experts…).However in the case of spin-off projects, often very upstream, some of these validations may be postponed.

The decision proposals are then submitted for approval of the Board of Directors, which has sole power on the subject.

The Board of Directors of WSL is composed of representatives of Wallonia, of a majority of representatives of the industrial world (Competitiveness Clusters), and of representatives of universities and research centres.

The partnership lasts for 5 years and is renewable twice by 1 year.

Services

Basic Services: logistics assistance provided by the local business ecosystem on our various sites (Liège, Louvain-la-Neuve, Charleroi, Mons and Transinne)

Company in engineering sciences, based in Wallonia, with original or patented technology.

Selection

WSL conducts (at its own expense) an assessment focusing on four well-defined areas: intellectual property, market, technology and quality of the team. If this review, which gives a global view of the maturity of the project, is favourable, and if WSL’s added value is unquestionable, the proposal is submitted to a selection committee comprised of WSL Board members and of partners (local Invests, experts…).

The decision proposals are then submitted for approval of the Board of Directors, which has sole power on the subject.

The Board of Directors of WSL is composed of representatives of Wallonia, of a majority of representatives of the industrial world (Competitiveness Clusters), and of representatives of universities and research centres.

The partnership lasts for 3 years and is renewable twice by 1 year.

Services

Basic Services: logistics assistance provided by the local business ecosystem on our various sites (Liège, Louvain-la-Neuve, Charleroi, Mons and Transinne)